Page 74 of Cowboy Wolf's Secret Baby

“Okay, I ask again. What could I give them that they don’t already have?”

Micah thought about it for a second and smiled. “You have enough rodeo belt buckles to share with the entire pack. How about one of those for each of them? It would be a unique gift that no one else could give them.”

“Can do. I’ll even buy some little belts for them to put them on.”

The little bear cub and wolf pup were all over their Uncle Conner. Although they were still too young to understand a lot of his stories, they liked listening to him talk about the funnier stories he experienced. They were ecstatic over the belt buckles.

“They don’t know what the significance of these are, but they will. They know it came from you and they will treasure them,” Lucy said.

Micah grinned and said, “Speaking of treasures. We have a surprise.”

Lucy clapped her hands in delight and exclaimed, “We’re going to have another little one.”

Everyone erupted in excitement, congratulating the couple.

“Twins?” Conner asked.

“Heavens, I hope not,” Micah said. “She’s not taking fertility drugs this time around, so hopefully there’s just one pup or cub in there.”

Conner wrestled around with Alex and Gracie the rest of the afternoon until the youngins were exhausted. He grinned at Micah and Lucy and said, “You’re welcome.”

They laughed.

He felt a sadness wash over him as he drove home. Because of Matilda, he had lost so much time with Taryn. There were so many events that he had missed, like her first steps, her first shift, and so many others. Now, because of that evil witch, he was missing out on even more of her life.

The next week, Conner was busy getting everything ready to get his ranch in business. He had a lead on a horse that would be a great stud to breed broncs. Conner had also bought several mares that would be perfect.

He and the sellers signed the paperwork. Everything was going according to plan. Conner knew that he should be happy, but there was a huge hole in his heart. Daily phone calls weren’t enough to fill his aching need.

A few days later, Conner was fixing a fence around a pasture. He heard a rumbling noise and stood up, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Who in the world is that?” he asked.

A truck he didn’t recognize was pulling a trailer he also didn’t recognize down the dirt road that led to his property.

“I don’t remember buying anything else,” he said. “I have all the mares and the studs.”

He dropped his tools and walked slowly toward the truck. His heart skipped a beat when the doors flew open and Taryn jumped out of the truck and ran to him.

“Dad, it’s us. Me and Mom came to find you,” she said.

He dropped down to his knees and wrapped his arms around the little girl he had missed so much. Conner stood, with Taryn still in his arms, and pulled Beth into a tight hug.

The three of them held each other for several minutes without saying a word. Then, Taryn slid down to the ground and Beth took a step back.

“I’m so glad to see you guys, but why are you here? How did you find me?”

“I had Micah’s number. I called him and told him that I needed to know your address and why. He gave it to me,” Beth said.

“We’re here because we want to live with you,” Taryn said.

Beth blushed and said, “I guess I should have asked, but I didn’t want to give you the chance to say no.”

“I wouldn’t,” Conner said. “But, won’t you guys miss Cheyenne?”

“No,” they both yell at the same time.

“What about Matilda?” he asked. “Is that nasty witch going to show up on my doorstep?”

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